Final stretch underneath the Buendia Flyover going towards Star City. (photo courtesy of Running Photographers FB)
PASAY CITY – Over 3,500 runners answered the starting gun of the Third Manila Bay Cleanup Run last Sunday (July 7) and after the dust settled, the Kenyan juggernaut went home with the lion’s share of the prizes. The annual fun run organized by the Manila Broadcasting Company aims to raise funds and awareness to rid Manila Bay of garbage and other pollutants thus restoring its natural beauty.
The visitors from East Africa copped the first four places in the centerpiece 21-kilometer Men’s Division led by champion John Chebii who clocked 1:09:15 and earn PHP 21,000.00. He was closely followed by compatriots Julius Kiptalan (1:09:56) and Joel Chepwony (1:10:05) with John Jepkorir (1:27:01) a distant fourth.
Team Kenya also swept the 10-kilometer Men’s Division behind champion Josphat Kiptanui Too (31:36) followed by Eliud Kering (32:18) and Philip Tabut (33:29). Filipinos settled for winning the shorter distances as Rafael Poliquit (14:01) and Michael Bacong (9:38) ruled the five and three kilometers respectively.
Overall, the race gets passing marks on most fronts. One thing is certain whenever Runners’ Link is in charge one of their strengths is the number and quality of marshals who are runners themselves and are aware of the needs of their fellow runners during the race.
Since the 21-kilometer course was a bit complicated due to a pair of loops around Macapagal Boulevard, Senate and EDSA, it was important for the marshals to guide the runners and hand out ribbons at checkpoints. Traffic was easily managed all throughout Roxas Boulevard and inside the Mall of Asia complex with the intersection of Macapagal and Buendia proving to be the trickiest.
Hydration was plentiful but limited to room temperature purified water. That is understandable since the event did not have a sports drink as one of its sponsors.
Of course, water is insufficient especially in a 21-kilometer race so I always tie some candies on my race belt for a quick energy boost and to relieve hungers pangs usually after every 10 kilometers or one hour of running.
The course was generally flat and easy. Running a lot around MOA and Roxas Boulevard has developed familiarity with the topography and the only problem comes from the early morning stink from Manila Bay thus underscoring the need to support the race’s advocacy.
The race unfortunately had a few red marks. Before the race, organizers announced that they would be setting back the gun times by 30 minutes but in the end, the 21-kilometer runners were fired off 15 minutes after the new announced time of 4:30 AM.
After an almost perfect race and weather conditions, a lot of runners went home disappointed after it took a long time to retrieve their deposited baggage from the counter. I have encountered a lot of races with similar problems but thinking deeply, it is not totally the fault of the organizer but the situation is further aggravated by a lack of discipline among runners.
Participating in sports develops one’s discipline and character. It seems a lot of runners suddenly forgot how to properly line up and patiently wait for their turn.
No doubt, the one of the reason if not the biggest reason why the race sold out quickly was the inclusion of two complimentary Ride All You Can tickets to Star City. This is one good example of giving runners an educated choice on what events to patronize.
The fact that this race has survived to stage a third edition is a big achievement. How many fun runs these days return for a second installment?
If a fun run is able to hurdle the proverbial sophomore jinx and return for a third time, it is very likely that the fun run is here to stay until the bay’s crystal clear waters return. We look forward to a bigger and better fourth staging of the Manila Bay Cleanup Run in 2014.
Thank you to the Manila Broadcasting Company and Gay Maddela of Runners Link for making our participation in the Third Manila Bay Cleanup Run possible. The full event results may be accessed by clicking HERE.
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